What? I Didn't Hear That! Did You Say She's Gone?
by EvolutionaryBaby
Summary: Five years from an AU season 6. Rory goes back to Stars Hollow to patch things up with her mother - but there's a problem. Lorelai moved away and nobody knows where she is. Luke is married; Sookie is in New York. Things have changed, and Rory is suddenly aware of what one boat and one move to the Grandparents' house can mean over a period of time.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

So this is a kind of AU season 6 onwards. Luke and the ultimatum happened at the same time as Rory left for Richard and Emily's, and this is five years later. Rory is back in Stars Hollow, looking to mend bridges with her estranged mother. But there's just one problem - finding her.

Rating: T

Pairings: Rory/Logan, Luke/Lorelai, Lorelai/Chris

Rory Gilmore grimaced as she got out of her expensive, expensive car. It was ruby red and the kind of car she'd never have even considered until she hit her twenties. It looked odd and out of place in its spot on gravel in an oddly special little town in Connecticut.

She stretched, happy to be out of a confined space after a six hour drive, and then lifted her head for the first time. And she saw...nothing. Nothing at all that indicated the house stood before her was occupied - no light on, no couch on the porch and no curtains up. The windows were covered from the inside with old newspapers, and Rory walked closer to determine the date.

A tabloid clipping about Britney Spears' shaved head stared back at her, and Rory became aware that the person who used to live in this house was long gone.

She grimaced internally, and with a defeated smile turned back towards her car. Her internal recollection was stopped rudely by a squealing -

'RORY GILMORE! Ahh oh my god, Morey! Morey! Look who it is! What are you doing back here honey? You talkin' to your mom again? Ya know, we all miss you - Morey get your ass out here!' The blonde rushed her talking, but Rory was too transfixed to take notice.

Babbette had aged a lot in the five years it'd been since Rory was last in Stars Hollow - lines marked her face and her once blonde hair was now mostly grey and stringy. A man wearing what appeared to be a Zorro costume - no, he was merely fully in black clothes - walked over to them with a relaxed pace.

'Rory. What's up?'

'Morey isn't this so exciting? We'd better tell Patty she's back - and Sookie and...er...nobody else...' she trailed off, her voice now losing its excitement.

'Babbette!' Rory suddenly came to her senses, rushing forward to hug the statuesque woman. 'It's been too long!'

'Well that's what happens when you grow up, I guess. You forget...' Babbette stopped suddenly, aware of her faux pas. She noticed that Rory suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and sighed.

'Well it's good to have you back, isn't it Morey? Come in for a cuppa joe and we'll talk seriously - ya know, my back's having problems now, I can't stand for too long - MOREY! Go and start the coffee!' She took the young woman's arm and started walking toward the house, a slightly nervous spring in her step.

...

'So tell me everything doll - your reportin' duties and all that'.

'Well you know I'm working for the London Times? I've been there about a year now, ever since Logan and I - well, you know we've been together for a long time...'

'What! You're back with blondie! I shoulda' known - didn't I tell ya Morey that Rory wouldn't end up with Dean?' Babbette sputtered, and Rory looked for a change of conversational topic as soon as the sentence ended.

'Oh, how is Dean?'

'Oh, he's good doll. He's married to a wonderful girl now, and has a three year - Morey hurry up with that coffee! - old boy.'

'Oh, that's great!' Rory forced out, aware her smile probably looked more like a grimace, and stuttered her next question.

'And...the town? How's Sookie and Patty and...everyone?'

'Ah everybody's fine doll. Ah! I can't take this anymore. You talkin' to your mom again?' She watched as Rory's face fell.

'No. We haven't spoken since I moved in with Grandma and Grandpa. She didn't even come to my 21st birthday party.'

'Well would've been difficult without an invitation, sweetie. But never mind that - you back here looking to mend bridges?'

'I'm back in the states visiting Grandma and Grandpa and figured I'd...come and check out the Hollow, you know - see if they finally built that 24 hour nightclub with the lightshow - and I wanted to see everyone.'

'Well we've missed you!'

'Yeah, I've missed the town too. Especially Luke's coffee and the Dragonfly. Oh! How's that doing?'

'You mean...you haven't heard?' Babette spoke softly for the first time in her life, aware suddenly of what this conversation could mean for Rory's life. Rory's face fell for the second time in the last ten minutes, as she felt the ominous build up of bad news.

'What...what happened?'

'Well after you left and Luke...what happened with your mom and Luke...Lorelai took it real hard, honey. She stopped going to the Inn most days and Sookie didn't know what to do with it all! She hired an extra manager but still, Lorelai was the heart and soul of that business! They lasted a year and Sookie and Lorelai kept fighting about anything, so when Sookie was offered a job as a chef in New York she and Jackson leaped at the chance!'

Rory tried to be cautiously optimistic, hoping her mother had snapped out of her funk and got it all together.

'What..happened next?'

'Well, with Sookie gone Lorelai went through six chefs in three months, and eventually closed the kitchen. And a BnB without a kitchen...it doesn't work real well, you see, and eventually the Inn had to close. They ran outta money.' She halted as Morey carried a tray with two cups of boiling coffee into the room and placed it on the coffee table, and Rory was grateful for the intermission.

'So your mom did the only thing she could, Rory. With you gone and Luke married there just wasn't anything here for her anymore.'

'Wait - did you say Luke married! Who the hell did he marry? Don't tell me he got back together with Nicole, that bitch - '

'No, no honey. See with Lorelai out of the picture - right after you left she gave him an ultimatum and he turned her down! Never did understand that boy - anyway. So with Lorelai out of the picture he turned all his attention to that daughter of his - and I tried to hate her doll but she's cute as Cinnamon was! So then he was spendin' all this time with her and Anna and one thing led to another and he got it into his head that this was his chance for a real family, see...' she trailed off as she saw a tear roll down Rory's face. 'Ah dear, I know - we all thought your mom and Luke would...'

'They belong together! Why would mom...why would Luke!?' She asked through tears.

'Well he's still at the diner if you want to go give him a piece of your mind! Though it's expanded in the past few years - the Ice Cream Shoppe shut down and Luke finally got the permit to expand...'

'Well that's good...' Rory cracked a small smile.

'Anyway, doll. I expect you have other people to visit.'

'Babbette?'

'Yeah sweetie?'

'Where did mom go? Did she get a job or...'

'Well she had a job all lined up somewhere West - she said she'd write and all as soon as she got there but nobody's heard a word! So I'm sorry doll but I don't know where she is...'

Rory looked crestfallen for a minute, before regaining her composure and standing up forcing a smile out. She reached forward to hug the grey-haired chatterbox and said her goodbyes, falling into a pit of tears as soon as she was out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for the reviews/follows/favourites. I'm glad you seem to like it._

_By the way, this will all get resolved. I'm not going to leave everybody unhappy like this. But what I missed from season 7 is Rory growing up, in a way. She never fully takes any responsibility for her actions, and doesn't really seem to think of what impact her life choices have on other people. Truthfully I hated her from season 6 onwards – she wasn't Rory anymore._

_I loved seasons 1-4 Rory._

_Oh, and Logan will be in the next chapter. I kind of realized that as they are in a relationship she has to call him at some point, lol._

_Anyway. Enjoy_

**Disclaimer**: I still don't own any part of GG. Damn, my calls to the WB/CW must be getting forwarded to the janitor.

…..

Rory awoke the next morning back in the pool house of her grandparents' mansion. The walls were brown and bare; the bookshelves housing only the most expensive of her books. Her old, worn copies of _Catcher in the Rye _and _Alias Grace _were stuffed under her bed, as Grandma thought the roughened paperbacks looked out of place with a backdrop of polished wood and hardbacks. The television didn't work, and there was no coffee machine. Rory reminded herself that this is how she lived her life now, and had done for the past five years. There were no longer long mornings with numerous cups of coffee; there were no more hamburgers and chili fries. Instead she ate caviar and boiled potatoes and duck, and even after five years her stomach still swelled with the richness of it all. It was what her mother had hated most about living this wealthy life – the fraudulent ideas of eating what is 'appropriate' and dressing 'appropriately' and not swearing and drinking tea instead of coffee.

It had taken her time to get used to.

Of course, initially she was youthfully enamoured by the glamor of parties in tuxedos and limousines consistently stocked with alcohol for the underage. The people had read the same books as she did and were culturally diverse. One girl lived in Paris for ten years. Rory kept telling herself that this was the life meant for her – that she had chosen this life her mother had left. It wasn't a betrayal, Rory thought, as Lorelai never gave her the option. Her grandparents seemed perfectly nice, and Rory still didn't fully understand why her mother had been so stubborn as to leave them.

Sure, Grandma could be a little controlling sometimes…..

'Rory? Rory are you awake? Come in for breakfast at once – your oatmeal is getting lumpy!' Emily called in a way that Rory now knew meant that disobeying her was not an option.

'Coming!'

'And make sure you wear a nice dress – not that horrible pink frilly thing with the rough edges.'

'Yes Grandma.'

Rory was startled into alertness, and immediately rushed to don her navy blue dress. This dress was appropriate; the high collar, the pinched in waistline. It was something Lane would've immediately laughed at. Lorelai would have hated it for its blandness.

But this was Rory Gilmore. The granddaughter of Emily and Richard Gilmore. She was the daughter they'd had but dismissed time and time again because of her individuality. Rory must be perfect.

Glancing once at an old, tired photo of a smiling 32 year old with her daughter at a Bangles' concert, Rory ran a brush through her hair and pulled open the door, wishing that the last few years - no. Wishing that her life itself had gone down a different path.

….

On the opposite coast of the United States, Lorelai Gilmore awoke to light shining brightly on her face. She still wasn't used to the sun that California so frequently and strongly offered, and she felt a line of sweat beading on her back.

_I really, really need to save up for air conditioning._

The small house she owned in a part of Los Angeles was Spanish by design, and was currently unequipped with air conditioning…..and a microwave. Coffee was luckily no problem – there was a Coffee Bean two houses down and a convenience store not much farther away. It was an ideal location for her – it was also under ten miles to her work place.

Lorelai had been working at this bookstore for a little under three years now. Wanting a change of pace after the Dragonfly had to close down, she looked for something unfamiliar that was meaningful in some way to her. The food industry was out – any sight of a chef cooking or a diner would just remind her of two of her own personal failures; her friendship with Sookie and her relationship with Luke. Something office-like or financial was out for her lack of skills in the area, and she landed at the bookstore. Going to LA for a holiday to figure it all out, she was shopping. Looking for a copy of _Swan's Way _she wanted to remind herself of a time when her life was simpler, she stumbled upon a notice on the door of an old but large bookshop:

MANAGER/BOOKKEEPER WANTED

APPLY INSIDE

Knowing she had no experience in bookshops or retail at all, Lorelai focused on the management part of the requirement. She told the owner all about the Dragonfly and her experiences in dealing with people, and flashed the older gentleman a wink and a smile. He was enraptured by her sociality, and seemed to find her giggly sense of humour endearing. She was hired at the end of the interview, and seventy-year old Dave became one of her closest friends.

The loneliness of a life once filled with love weighed on her at all times, but Lorelai reminded herself that even though she no longer had a family or a loved one to care for and love back, she had Dave. And her house. And the view of palm trees outside her bedroom window.

She couldn't say she was unhappy.

…

Luke Danes was angry. No, not angry. He was _pissed. _His eighteen year old daughter had gone out without telling her parents, arriving home at three in the morning with a drunken, leather-jacket clad boyfriend in tow.

He often wondered what happened to the little science geek he first met – she was adorable and smart and the apple of his eye. He had no idea why each year she seemed to grow more rebellious; more different with every birthday that passed. Well, he knew part of the reason.

She grew up through an extremely unsettled childhood; first without a father, then finding him, dealing with New Mexico, moving back once Lorelai was out of Luke's life. He couldn't be too surprised she seemed to have some kind of resentment against him – he'd undoubtedly screwed up her sense of a normal relationship. First he promises that Lorelai will be around forever; he swears to his daughter that she is the one. Then, as suddenly as April herself appeared, Lorelai was gone and Luke was out of answers. Lorelai was not the one.

It had been an okay few years, however. Luke couldn't deny that. After Lorelai moved away, he closed her off in a locked box somewhere near his heart. He didn't think about her. He didn't let himself remember the smell of her hair, and he threw away an old bra of hers he found buried deep in his closet two years later. He told himself he'd moved on.

And had he?

April was smarter than even she knew; she saw the glances between her parents, and knew they weren't in love. They were in it for the daughter – had decided that love was a small enough sacrifice to make for a perfect family of husband, wife and daughter. But did that mean they'd forgotten? Had Anna forgotten the fact that she was alone for twelve years raising April? Did Luke forget the love he'd let go?

Luke took his standard five minute shower, running a ragged hand over his stubbly chin. Looking into the mirror, he saw an old man – _when did that happen? _

This Tuesday was set to be as usual as any other Tuesday – he'd already said goodbye to his wife for the day, and sent his daughter off to school after issuing a punishment of a month's grounding he knew would last a week. He would return to the diner, work until 3 and then hand the reins over to Caesar and pick up April from school. Just a normal day.

…

As the clock above the counter floor signalled noon, Luke swiped his hand on his apron. Taylor had already been in complaining about April's boyfriend's motorcycle causing noise pollution, and he'd had a not-so pleasant call from Jess. Both were now things that he was used to, however, and he dealt with them with a slightly softer demeanour than he would've done ten years ago.

He started wiping down the counter before the lunch rush, only to be interrupted by a chime from the hanging doorbell. Looking up, he was almost afraid to breathe for a few moments, only to find his breath all rushed out at once. His sweaty palms shook once or twice, and settled in a sheepish position in his pockets.

'Hi Luke…' The words were shortly spoken by a sassy brunette who once lived in jeans and a t shirt, but now dressed in a dress that looked like it cost more than Luke's truck.

'Rory….'

'How's the coffee?'

'Er, what are you – here, sit down. I'll, er, be right back.'

Rushing upstairs Luke looked for a place to compose himself, taking deep breaths and washing his sweaty hands. What the hell was she doing back in Stars Hollow? Did Lorelai send her?

Reluctantly returning to the diner, he stole a long glance at the young woman. She looked….like Emily Gilmore, down to the gold broach adorning the area below her right shoulder. He poured a cup of coffee for the Gilmore, and sat down opposite her.

'So…' he clapped his hands together, wishing that she would speak; wishing that she would tell him what he wanted to know.

'I guess I'll cut to the chase. Do you, er, know where mom is?'

'Wha….no. Rory, your mother and I haven't been together in a long time now, I'm married and here you come barging in looking for….'

'Luke! I haven't spoken to mom in five years. I'm just looking to patch things up.' He softened slightly at the look on her face – for a second there, he was looking at the old Rory Gilmore. The Rory who asked his help digging holes in Lane's floor; the one who was so proud to get into both Harvard and Yale she was writing multiple pro/con lists.

'I, er, didn't know….I didn't know….why?'

'You know, the thing with the boat happened, and then I moved in with Grandma and Grandpa, and then….we just didn't talk.'

'I didn't think you two could ever stop talking.' Deadpan, wanting Rory to smile. Even after all these years, Luke couldn't bear to see Rory upset, and was desperate for another glimpse of Old Rory.

'Well apparently things change.'

'They do indeed. And no, I haven't seen your mother in…must be three or so years now.'

'Oh, ok. Thanks. I'll just…er…'

'Rory….'

'I heard you got married. Congratulations.' She tried not to scowl or grimace or look too upset, but couldn't help the slight downturn of the corners of her mouth.

'Thanks, I guess. I mean its good – marriage. I, er….April is really happy to have her parents together.'

'She must be.' Rory paused, aware of the trouble her mere presence could be causing. 'Can I ask you one question?'

'Of course…I mean, if you want to.' Rory was silent for a moment, formulating her response. She knew the questions she wanted to ask – why did you let mom go, why didn't you fight for her. She realized then that now these questions were pointless; Luke's life had escaped the Gilmore's grasp and she had no right to pry like that.

'Are you happy?'

Luke sighed. He'd honestly expected something to do with Lorelai, and in a way he supposed this question was. But years had passed and Rory was old enough now to not need protecting, and he tried to answer honestly.

'What is happiness, Rory? I have a daughter I love more than anything, my business is consistently well and I have a lovely woman waiting for me at home every night. I'd be lying if I said I am unhappy.'

Rory nodded, trying not to break down for the second time of her Connecticut visit. She'd asked, and he was happy. She was still no closer to finding her mother, except for Babbette's mention of the West coast.

Damn it.


End file.
